Riff: Starlight Symphony Orchestra
A twenty-year standing ovation goes to the Starlight Symphony Orchestra for their precious gift of orchestral music to the citizens of Wimberley. Practically no town our size can claim such an outstanding cultural gem. Sunday’s concert at the Wimberley Community Center marked their final performance of the 2023 season. Their program, called Heroes and Villains, featured music from Superman, Wonder Woman, Star Wars, The Incredibles, Toy Story, Frozen and more.
The musicians and the always-entertaining Music Director, Dr. David Oertel, wore superhero capes to underscore the concert’s theme. At one point, Oertel gave the audience an artful look and opened his shirt to reveal – Superman style – an SSO logo t-shirt beneath.
From the first notes of John Williams’ “Superman March,” the orchestra took us on a 35year journey through the orchestral icons of the GenX era and beyond.
Jenkin’s ““Palladio” Concerto Grosso for Strings,” which might be called, “An Overture for Villains” led us on a wonderfully sneaky and suspenseful chase. We sang along to Toy Story’s lyrics, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” and giggled to the “Incredits” from The Incredibles score with its tongue-incheek pomp and sly asides. We jumped in our seats to the opening blast of the Star Wars Suite. At one point, a Jedi, the Star Wars guardian of peace and justice, materialized and waved a lightsaber overhead.
Always classy, entertaining, educational and fun, the SSO does not charge for their performances. Astonishingly, the 51-member orchestra shares their expertise, talent and time for the enjoyment of others. Although their bumper sticker says, “Live, Local, and Free since 2003,” it is important to support this precious resource in every way we can.
Roam: “Albert” About 40 miles from Wimberley is Albert, west of Blanco on FM 1623, in Gillespie County. Originally named Martindale, it was renamed by Minnie Luckenbach (yes, of the very same Luckenbachs who founded their town, 15 miles away) after her hubs Carl Albert when they opened the post office in town.
Despite having a general store, a Lutheran Church, and a school where LBJ climbed trees as a kid, Albert became a ghost town. Clever man Bobby Cave bought the land where the town stood, built an icehouse and then, in 2007, sold the town on eBay. Yes, you read that right – on eBay. After changing hands a couple more times, Albert is now owned by the Easley family from Austin. Not officially a town, it is depicted with quotes on either side of its name to denote its status as a private property that used to be affiliated with the county.
For two-steppers on the dance hall circuit, Albert’s startling history is no doubt familiar. Besides them, the dancehall draws picker circles, bands and the bigger- named acts for evening shows. Behind the icehouse, daytime performers play under two massive oaks reputed to be older than the U.S. itself.
Last Saturday I sat next to a dozen sweaty bikers to hear Bobby McGowan’s Rugged Gents under those oaks with a Kolsch from the Alstadt Brewery in hand. At the tables next to me were boomers with dogs on leashes, a clutch of dancers, and a few lively groups with partying on their mind. Several twosomes were getting a jump on their day drinking and one lonesome fellow wandered around looking for a convivial place to land.
The aroma from a nearby food truck proved provocative and many of us wore a path back and forth to pony up for brisket-laden baked potatoes, cheeseburgers, and kimchi hot dogs.
It turns out Bob Appel was standing in for one of the Rugged Gents. He gave us Dale Watson’s song, “I lie when I drink – and I drink a lot. . .”, a Johnny Cash medley, a trio of Marty Robbins tunes, and Josh Turner’s lyrics, “Lock the door and turn the lights down low. . .” from “Your Man.”
A table of smartly hatted cowgirls whistled and stomped in response to Appel’s rendition of Turner’s sexy low baritone.
“Your Man” also brought out the dancers. One memorable couple scooted in perfect unison. The man clamped his right shoulder over the shoulder of his partner and drew her so close that a misstep was not possible. Her challenge, besides inflating a lung, was keeping her toes out of harm’s way.
The two-wheeled denizens of the pavement next to me became animated and regaled each other with stories of “wash outs,” “trashes,” and other mishaps of the road. One gal looked like she’d recently taken a spill and the dude on my right appeared to have spent more time in a ditch than would normally be considered healthy.
Another woman at a table in front, tethered by leash to a shaggy hound, wore a t-shirt attributed to the late Jerry Jeff Walker, “. . . enjoy life with its simple, wonderful, everyday magic.” It proved to be right-fitting counsel for an afternoon in “Albert.”
Rave: Goons
The 80s band Goons performed at the Wimberley Playhouse on Saturday night as part of the theatre’s 2023 season of outdoor concerts and movies. A threatening thunderstorm brought the Goons from the outdoor stage to the indoor boards where preparations for the Agatha Christie mystery, “And then there Were None,” were underway.
With theatre people and friends pitching in, Goons Cole and Sydney Burris and bassist William Barksdale were soon set up and energizing the crowd with their retro sound. Inspired by the likes of Sheena Eason, ABBA, The Cars and Duran Duran, the nostalgia their music invoked was palpable.
Lead vocalist Sydney charmed the crowd with pitch-perfect vocals. Teamed with Cole’s killer guitar solos, they delivered a cracking-good concert, exciting enough to revive the cabbage patch, the running man, and other dance moves of the era.
The darlings of the Austin City Limits Music Festival and South by Southwest after the release in 2019 of their “Year of the Goon,” their unique stage show delivers a delicious coup de grace towards fandom.
Check out their videos and Gooncasts on Facebook where you’ll fall in love and become instant fans of their synthwave-pop music. Look for them on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon Music. For more information on this super-talented band, visit goonvibesonly. com.
